Nov. 18, 2025
Governor Eric Greitens on Resilience, Leadership, and the Fight for America
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In this powerful episode of Stories Worth Hearing, host John Quick sits down with Governor Eric Greitens for one of his most candid and compelling conversations yet. Governor Greitens discusses the current state of the country, the direction of President Trump’s second term, and the real changes happening across America. He breaks down what strong leadership looks like, how morale shifts inside the military, and why foreign policy and veteran services are seeing major improvements. Governor Greitens also reflects on the proudest moments from his time as governor and what true public service demands from all of us.
The conversation becomes deeply personal as Governor Greitens recounts his battle through a politically motivated takedown that would have crushed most people. He shares how faith, fatherhood, and perspective helped him stay grounded through years of attacks and false accusations and how he transformed pain into purpose. He also gives a preview of his upcoming book, the Ultimate Rebellion Handbook, and explains why reclaiming personal strength matters more than ever.
Listeners can learn more at his official site and explore his books on Amazon.
Website: https://ericgreitens.com
Books: https://amzn.to/43B0kMi
Check out the website: https://www.newsmax.com/johnquick/eric-greitens-resilient-leader-missouri/2024/01/24/id/1150829/
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Welcome to stories worth
hearing.
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I am your host, John Quick.
Today we have a remarkable guest
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returning to the show.
Governor Eric Greitens is
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someone whose life has been
defined by service, strength and
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resilience.
Many of you reached out after
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his first appearance and said it
was one of the most powerful
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conversations we have ever had
on this podcast.
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So I knew we had to bring him
back.
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In this episode, Governor
Greitens and I talk about the
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state of the country, how
President Trump is shaping his
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second term, how leadership
impacts everything from foreign
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policy to military morale, and
why the direction of America
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still offers a lot of hope.
We also dive into some of the
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most defining moments of his
time as governor and talk openly
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about what he went through when
political forces tried to take
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him out.
His perspective on courage,
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integrity and faith is something
you are going to want to hear,
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so settle in.
This is a powerful conversation
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with Governor Eric Greitens.
These are the stories that
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matter.
These are the stories worth
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hearing.
Well, Governor, welcome back to
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the show.
This will be fun to chat with
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you.
Excited to kind of catch up
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here.
Absolutely.
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It's a pleasure to be back on
with you, Jonathan.
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Thank you so much for for having
me man.
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I really enjoyed our last
conversation.
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Appreciate what you do.
Thanks for thanks for having me
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back.
I can tell you that the folks
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that listen to this podcast
really enjoyed our first chat.
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It's been maybe a year or so
ago.
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So it'll be, I think, fun to
just kind of jump back in and
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hear how you doing, what you
think about kind of what's going
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on in the US, how you feel like
Trump's doing and, and, and give
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some hope to folks that maybe
are going through some tough
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times.
But let's first talk about how
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do you think the US is doing?
I mean, I know you have your
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finger on the pulse where you
live, but you're also friends
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with folks all over the US and,
you know, the business world,
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the political world.
So how do you think we're doing?
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How do you think Trump's doing
in his second term in office?
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Well, I think I think first of
all, one of the things that I
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always remind people of is
people get very focused on the
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day-to-day.
They're always focused on, you
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know, this headline and stuff
that happens 48 hours ago feels
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like it's old news.
I think it's nice sometimes to
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pull back and take a little bit
more of a, of a wider view of
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where we're at.
And if you just remind people
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that it was Joe Biden was in
office.
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Joe Biden was the president of
the United States of America,
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right?
And you remember what he kind of
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looked like on camera.
You remember him dottering
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around, right?
Like, it feels like, it feels
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like it's been a long time, but
it hasn't even been, hasn't even
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been a year.
OK.
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And then also when you also
think back on what America has
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lived through, the harshness,
the tragedy of, you know,
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thankfully, Trump's put an end
to all of the transgender, a
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nonsense of like men playing
women's sports.
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We had all of the COVID
craziness that the Biden
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administration was pushing so
much loss of personal freedoms
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for for Americans.
And of course, the tremendous
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corruption that the Biden
administration brought back.
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And I mean, still to this day,
you know, you have people
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claiming that the Hunter Biden
laptop was Russian
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disinformation, right?
All of this stuff.
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It's just important to remember
that, you know, 50 years from
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now, when they look back, people
were like really like that guy
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Joe Biden, that was the
president of the United States,
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right?
So, so, so keep that in mind.
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And then when you turn by
contrast, I think people are
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really appreciative of the
energy that President Trump is
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brought to his presidency.
And I think in particular, one
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of the things that I often focus
on is you think about the place
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that presidents play in history.
A lot of it has to do with
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foreign affairs.
One of the reasons why Ronald
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Reagan is so revered was because
of his role in helping the
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United States to win the cold.
War.
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Right.
You look at what President Trump
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was able to achieve in his first
term with the Abraham Accords,
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which is really extraordinary
with with Israel normalizing
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relations with a lot of lot of
Arab states.
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And then you look at the strides
that he's taken already to put
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an end to the war in Gaza.
That's something that the Biden
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administration repeatedly failed
to do.
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It really didn't even take any
serious efforts to do so.
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All of that happened also
because President Trump was able
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to take very strong and
effective military action
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against Iran.
All of these things have
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actually made the United States
safer when you look at the
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progress that's been made around
around the peace efforts in the
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Middle East.
So I think that's one piece that
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a lot of people don't often see.
Another thing, you know, there's
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lots of commentary, of course,
on lots of political issues.
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But the other thing that you
that I've found is that
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President Trump has also really
put in an effort to make sure
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that the government is actually
delivering on services.
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When you talk to veterans, they
will tell you that there was a
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massive difference in President
Trump's first term and how the
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VA delivered services.
And now that Trump is back in
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office, you're hearing from
veterans again.
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They appreciate what the
president has been doing to make
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the VA more effective for
veterans.
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So whether it's foreign policy,
domestic policy, lots of
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different issues, but these are
places where you'll see the
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legacy media won't give the
president any credit, but I
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think he's actually made some
some very strong moves.
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What is?
What is affect, you know, let's
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say the Army, Air Force,
Marines, all those kinds of
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folks who potentially get a new
boss every four years, a new
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president, Does it affect morale
when they have a Trump as
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opposed to a Biden as their
boss?
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I think the answer is yes, 100%.
It it affects morale and the the
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place you can see.
You don't have to take my word
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for it.
Look at the recruiting numbers.
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Look at the recruiting numbers.
There's a massive recruiting
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crisis when Joe Biden was in
office.
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And then as soon as President
Trump comes in office, Army,
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Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps.
I'm not sure about the Space
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Force numbers, but they're all
of the recruiting numbers.
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You saw a massive increase in
them when President Trump came
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into office.
Because young people who are
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looking at the prospect of
putting their lives on the line
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are asking themselves who's the
commander in chief?
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And we've always had in the
United States a non a non
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political military who was
willing to and able to serve
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whoever was elected by the
people of the United States of
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America.
But I will tell you that it
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makes a very big difference in
terms of morale when people
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believe that they have a
president who's going to use
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American forces wisely and who
also honors the United States
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military.
Yeah, I tend to agree with that.
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Let's shift a little bit.
I'd love to hear, you know, your
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thoughts on being governor.
You're you were the governor.
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I think during the time.
I think a lot of folks in your
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state really appreciated and
enjoyed you being the governor.
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You faced similar things that
Trump faces now on a daily basis
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where cancer culture comes in.
And if there was a poster child
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for resilience, your name, your
face would be all over that.
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But talk to me a little bit
about some of those proud
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moments you had as governor.
What were some of the things
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that you're still look back on
and say, man, I'm proud that
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that got accomplished?
You know that there, there are
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so many proud moments.
I'll, I'll touch on just just a
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couple of them.
You know, one of the things that
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I'm most proud of when I was
governor is we built a great
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team.
We had a fantastic team.
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And when I was governor, one of
the first things that I did was
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a built I built a public safety
team.
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We have police officers,
firefighters, first responders
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who all came together because a
lot of your listeners will
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remember Missouri, Ferguson, MO
in 2015 was the home.
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It was the birth place of the
Black Lives Matter and anti
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police movement.
That was before I was governor.
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And we knew that when I was
governor, we knew that they were
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going to test us again.
And indeed, in 2017, when I was
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governor, we had an incident
where a white police officer had
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shot and killed a black man on
duty.
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And as the trial progressed, we
had activists from Black Lives
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Matter and Antifa all over the
country came to Missouri.
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And they promised, they said,
after we're done, you won't even
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remember Ferguson.
They said we're going to burn
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Missouri to the ground.
We worked with a fantastic team.
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Again, we had police chiefs, we
had fire chiefs, we had the
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National Guard.
We had a great communications
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team and we used John, Jonathan
what what I call the heart and
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the fist.
We were extraordinarily clear
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with everybody and the message
was very simple.
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It was number one, that everyone
in the United States of America
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has the constitutional right to
protest.
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So anyone who's upset with a
verdict that comes out, you will
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find that our police officers
are out there and they are
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protecting everyone who is out
there exercising their
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constitutional right to protest.
We're also very clear that
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throwing a brick through a
window is not free speech, that
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if you assault a police officer,
you're going to be arrested.
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My predecessor, when he was
governor, he told people that he
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was giving the rioters a safe
space to loot and to burn.
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And I said that when I'm
governor, if you loot and you
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burn, the only safe space you're
going to have is in a jail cell.
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Well, we were, we are
extraordinarily clear that
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number one, we're going to
protect your constitutional
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rights.
And #2 there's not going to be
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any tolerance for, for rioting,
for looting, for burning.
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And Long story short, Jonathan,
after three days and, and our
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team ended up making hundreds of
arrests.
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After three days, Black Lives
Matter and Antifa were defeated.
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And we proved that you could be
compassionate, you could respect
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the Constitution of the United
States of America.
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And that allowing rioting,
allowing looting, allowing
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assaults on police officers,
that was a choice.
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And it was a choice that we were
not going to make when I was
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governor in Missouri.
And after three days, Antifa and
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Black Lives Matter left and they
had broken a few windows and
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turned over some potted plants,
and that was it.
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And I think that was one of my
proudest moments as governor.
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Now we also now know that it was
after we were successful doing
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that, the George Soros funded
prosecutor in Saint Louis
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decided that she was going to
make she was going to make up a
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charge against me, right?
So, so our great one of our
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greatest successes also awakened
this tremendous enemy, which was
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George Soros and this this
George Soros funded prosecutor.
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But you know, some of my other
favorite moments.
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I will always remember going to
release Judy Henderson from
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prison.
She was a woman who served 36
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years in prison for a murder she
did not commit.
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The previous governors had all
the boards of probation and
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parole had all recommended that
she be released.
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I did a full and complete review
of her file along with my team.
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I remember one of the lawyers on
my team came back after his the
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first visit to Judy and he said
she's the most amazing woman in
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the world.
She's fantastic.
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And I ended up going up
personally, Jonathan before
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Christmas and I went to the
prison myself on my my very
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first year and told her that
that she was free and we had
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called, we'd called her family,
her daughter Angel.
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She's written, by the way, she's
written a wonderful book.
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It's called When the Light Finds
us.
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In fact, you're, as I'm thinking
of it, your, your guests may or
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your listeners may enjoy having
her her on at some point.
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She just did a a wonderful book
called When the Light Finds Us.
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And it's a real story about her
faith and her resilience through
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some incredibly hard times.
I mean, imagine being in prison
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36 years for a murder.
You didn't come and she she
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still managed to raise her
daughter from inside of prison.
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She's just an incredibly
powerful woman and that was one
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of the most important things I
think I did as as governor.
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That's pretty awesome.
I think that those are the
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things that, you know, nobody,
nobody can ever take those
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things away from you, no matter
what kind of crap they throw
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social media or whatever.
It's like those kinds of things
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will stick with you forever,
which is pretty awesome.
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You and I were chatting a little
bit before the interview that
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Trump's second term looks way
different and is more effective
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than Trump was maybe on the
first term.
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Let's say, you know, not that
you're running, but let's say
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you get another term as
governor.
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What do you think you would do
different than you did your
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first term?
Because I think, you know, you
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know, our governor, my governor,
Governor Dunleavy, his second
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term looked way different than
his first term had he, you know,
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there's a lot of things I think
had he known going into blah,
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blah, blah, he would have done
blah, blah, blah different.
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And so is there anything, you
know, it's 10 years from now,
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you're, you know, governor
again, in this hypothetical
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situation, what would you do
different, you know, going into
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it?
Well, I think I think one of the
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pages that you could take from
the Trump second term playbook
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is that Trump in the in his
first term realized how
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entrenched the bureaucracy was
and that it was fighting him
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every single day when he was
president.
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And so as he came in in the
second term, he appointed people
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who he knew were.
Loyal.
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And he also made sure that he
was going to take control of as
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much as he could.
Look, they're still fighting him
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from time to time, right?
But in order to drive change,
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you really had to control the
executive branch.
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And I was very proud in our
first term.
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We brought an incredible people.
We had a fantastic cabinet of
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very talented people from all
over the country.
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One of the things that I think I
would do in the second term is
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also one of the things I do in
the second term is also make
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sure that we're driving change
at an even deeper level.
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Not just looking at those
cabinet positions, but looking
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234 levels down in the
departments to make sure that we
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have the right conservative
change agents there.
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I actually think that's, I think
that's really essential.
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Looking back on what happened to
you and you can give a little
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brief synopsis here after the
after I spit out this question
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for folks that have been living
under a rock and maybe haven't
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heard.
But you know, the, the they sent
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their team to say, we're going
to figure out how to cancel this
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governor because he's too
freaking effective and there's
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too many people that like him.
And, and they wanted to probably
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put you in a petriot disk to see
what they could get away with.
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Ultimately, they were in the
wrong, right?
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They were the ones who are now
getting convicted or going to
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jail or finding that they
made-up everything.
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Talk to me a little bit about
what it was like going through
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that.
Because it's one thing to go
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through something like an attack
on yourself and your family.
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If you're not in the public life
and it's only like 5 or 6 people
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know about it.
It's another thing to do it in
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front of the entire United
States and having it plaster on
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every media outlet out there and
knowing I didn't do any of this
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and we may not see my point of
view, may not be seen for
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another four years.
And I just kind of got to sit
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and wait for this thing to play
through.
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That's got to just be nuts.
So tell me, talk to me a little
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bit about that and where you
found strength to keep going in
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and through all of it.
For sure.
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Well, I'll just, I'll kind of
give you give your listeners
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like a brief synopsis of the
story and what happened and then
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I'll kind of walk back through
how, how, how we made it
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through.
But you know, as we were talking
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about earlier, we had an
extraordinarily effective term
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as governor.
We are changing things across
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the spectrum and the George
Soros organization didn't like
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that.
We now know that a George Soros
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00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,960
funded prosecutor decided that
she was going to come up with a
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crime to charge me with.
So a few weeks after I had ended
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the riots, she literally started
paperwork.
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She wasn't sure what the crime
was, but she decided that she
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was going to charge me with one.
She then hired A corrupt former
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FBI agent to make a false case
against me.
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They then enlisted corrupt
journalists, one of whom was a
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00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:33,160
convicted felon who ended up
paying people $120,000 cash to
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00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:35,240
lie about me.
And that's, that's only the
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00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:39,120
$120,000 in cash that we know
about that they paid.
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This is how sick and kind of
corrupt this operation was.
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Well, you Fast forward to today.
The corrupt FBI agent and the
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00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:57,360
George Soros funded prosecutor
were charged with eight felonies
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for perjury, for evidence
tampering, for misuse of public
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funds.
Both of the prosecutor and the
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00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:09,560
FBI agent have pled guilty.
The prosecutor was found by the
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00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:14,080
Missouri Supreme Court to have
lied over 70 times to the court,
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00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:18,480
lied to the judge, lied to the
grand jury over 70 times.
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She was found to have lied.
She was admonished.
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She was fined by them.
She later resigned.
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The truth has now come out, but
but one of the things that that
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you, you have to live through is
the fact that the legacy media,
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when we were going through this,
when we were going through this,
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they published literally
Jonathan, millions of negative
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00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:48,320
false stories about and it
wasn't just in the United
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States.
It was literally worldwide.
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This cover, this story was
covered around the world.
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And I remember somebody sending
me a, a, a story from the
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00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,520
Jerusalem Post about this,
right?
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So they cover the nonsense and
they cover the lies in a
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worldwide way.
But then once you're exonerated,
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when the prosecutor pleads
guilty, when the FBI agent
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pleads guilty, when it all,
well, they, they don't cover it.
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If they cover it all, they bury
it in a, in a paragraph on, on
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00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:24,240
page 7.
So, and it's also one of the
335
00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:28,400
things that is tough as you're
going through it, is it now all
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of the facts are out now today,
people know that I was innocent
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and they know that the people
who came after me are are
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guilty.
But at the time they didn't.
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And we also had no guarantees
that the truth would ever
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actually come out.
You know, I'm actually very
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lucky because there are a lot of
people who are falsely accused
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and they're they're slaughtered
in the media and the truth never
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finds its way out.
In my case, I was actually
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extraordinarily fortunate that
that it did.
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But that process also took
years.
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It took years for all the truth
to come out.
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It took years for the FBI agent
and the prosecutor themselves to
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get prosecuted and.
Even when the story came out, it
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came out just as COVID was
starting.
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So so people people were were
thinking about other things.
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And I think one of the things
that you have to do as you're
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going through something like
that is that you just have to
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have a rock solid sense of
personal faith and personal
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integrity to know that it really
at the end of the day, it sounds
355
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so simple, but it doesn't matter
what other people think.
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What matters is what you know
and what you what you know to be
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true.
And the world can turn on people
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in a very vicious, difficult
way.
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That's probably happened to a
lot of people who are listening
360
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to this podcast.
One of the things that's
361
00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,800
happened for me, because I've
survived this in the way that I
362
00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,160
have, so many people have come
to me and it told me their
363
00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:07,840
stories about how they they
were, that's not how they were,
364
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:09,840
they were maligned.
It happens, it happens.
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00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:14,280
And one of the things that I
I've noticed is that if you
366
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really stand up for good, the
forces of evil will come after
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you.
And I recently wrote in a, in a
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00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:28,400
book that'll be coming out.
It's the line I wrote.
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Is it scars left by the devil
mark you as one of God's sons?
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So you can, you can actually
wear these scarves proudly
371
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:40,560
because you know that they came
to you because you've done
372
00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,920
difficult things.
And in your own life, you can
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00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:45,920
try to find a way to take that
pain.
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00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:48,200
And it was really painful, and
you turn it into wisdom.
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You take that suffering and you
turn it into strength.
376
00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,600
Yeah, I think that's one of the
things that I have admired the
377
00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:58,200
most in your story is that in
talking with you and some of
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00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:02,040
your team members, you know, I
get to talk to people,
379
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:05,920
successful people from all over
the globe with this podcast, you
380
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,920
know, from elected officials to
billionaires and stuff happens
381
00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:12,480
to folks.
And you guys have remained super
382
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:14,920
positive.
So I think that that's been
383
00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:16,920
something that I've seen and
looked at and it's been
384
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,680
inspiring for me because it's
very easy to be bitter.
385
00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:25,120
Something that happened to you.
It's and similar things, maybe
386
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,040
more worse or less worse, happen
to people all the time.
387
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,520
And I think the majority of the
time people choose to be angry,
388
00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:34,800
bitter, resentful and negative.
What in it?
389
00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,720
What's made you not do that?
Because there's something
390
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,120
different there than I think
most folks.
391
00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:42,920
Is it faith?
Is it because you've been to
392
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:47,040
actual wars and this is all
child's play because it's just
393
00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:50,200
kind of words on a paper?
Tell me, tell me a little bit
394
00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:54,120
about what's made you decide to
turn something that's really
395
00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:58,120
shitty into a positive thing.
Yeah, Well, well, thanks, man.
396
00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:01,320
I, I appreciate that.
Look, I do think that it, it
397
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,600
helped that, you know, before I
ever served in the military, I'd
398
00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,400
done a lot of work in
humanitarian crises.
399
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,880
So I'd seen terrible situations,
you know, people who'd lost
400
00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:15,200
their homes at Bosnia, genocide
in Rwanda, kids who'd lost limbs
401
00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:19,520
to landmines in Cambodia.
I'd seen real hardship and, you
402
00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:22,080
know, poverty and and one of
mother traces homes for the
403
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:25,200
destitute and dying in Calcutta.
I'd seen that real hardship.
404
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,000
I think, of course, obviously
going through the SEAL teams,
405
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,920
you know, serving in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Southeast Asia, the
406
00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:36,520
Horn of Africa, gives you a
perspective on what true pain
407
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:38,840
is.
Though I will often say, I, I, I
408
00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:43,120
will always tell people I'd much
rather fight the Taliban than
409
00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:46,800
than fight journalists and
politicians because they're more
410
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,280
honest.
The Taliban, they're just trying
411
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:51,880
to kill you.
You know, it's just straight up
412
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:53,920
right.
It's just they're trying to kill
413
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:57,840
you and they, they, they're not,
they're not pretending.
414
00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:01,240
So, so I think that that
perspective helped.
415
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:05,840
But really when you go through
something like that, of course
416
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,400
you have moments of anger, Of
course you have a moments of
417
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:09,960
fear.
Of course you have moments of,
418
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,480
of bitterness.
And I think you always get a
419
00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:15,920
choice in life.
I think there's really only two
420
00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:17,920
emotions.
There's fear and there's love
421
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:27,520
and you have to find a way to
remember what you love and and
422
00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:31,640
work for it and be part of it.
You know, I'm so fortunate
423
00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:35,320
because I have two beautiful
sons, Joshua and Jacob.
424
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:40,760
And, you know, one of the great
gifts that's actually been given
425
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:46,680
to me was that because of
stepping out of the schedule and
426
00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,240
the demands of public life, I've
been able to be an incredible
427
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,640
dad.
I'm absolutely incumbent with
428
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,440
that.
And that they're 9 and 11 now.
429
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:59,640
And I know I often think to
myself, you know, when I'm on my
430
00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:03,200
deathbed, what's going to be
most important to me.
431
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:07,200
And the fact that I've been able
to spend this much time with
432
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:11,480
them and have these quality
trips and quality conversations
433
00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:15,120
and time going to soccer
practice and basketball practice
434
00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:20,360
and all of this, I believe,
well, I, I already feel and I
435
00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:23,040
think that at the end of my
days, I'll also feel that it,
436
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,120
this was a great gift.
I love that.
437
00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:29,680
And I think I think you're going
to look back on that and think,
438
00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:34,960
you know, that there was a
purpose for everything and that
439
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:38,240
maybe that was a part of the
bigger purpose.
440
00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,200
So you could spend some more
time with your kids because Lord
441
00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:45,760
knows if you're in the
governor's mansion or a senator
442
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:48,360
or whatever, you just don't have
much time for anything outside
443
00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:51,480
of that specific job.
So last question to you is this
444
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:52,880
governor, I want to be mindful
of your time.
445
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:55,400
You have a, you have a book
coming out, a new book.
446
00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:57,960
I don't think it's out yet.
Can you talk to me a little bit
447
00:25:57,960 --> 00:25:59,680
about that, what people could
expect?
448
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:01,640
What's it about?
All those kind of details We'd
449
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:03,800
love to hear.
Yeah, Well, well, what when it
450
00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:07,080
actually comes out, we should
come on and I'll, I'll talk,
451
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:09,520
we'll, we'll have another
podcast about the book.
452
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:13,640
But right now, the working title
title is The Ultimate Rebellion
453
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:19,560
Handbook, and it's a book about
how a man can take back his soul
454
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:22,760
from a world and a culture
that's trying to take it away.
455
00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:27,600
Everywhere you look today, there
are all of these demands on
456
00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:34,160
people's and the ultimate
rebellion today as a man is to
457
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,520
really be master of your own
life.
458
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:39,600
And so that's that's that.
That's what the book's all
459
00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:43,600
about.
We'll have you back on to chat
460
00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:47,200
about the book once it gets out.
First of all, thanks so much for
461
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,480
coming back on.
Really appreciate you.
462
00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:53,080
Your stories inspiring.
For folks that are listening,
463
00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:56,280
I'm going to link to the
governor's website.
464
00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,280
He's got a couple books out
already that people can go check
465
00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:00,960
out.
I want to encourage folks to go
466
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:06,600
check those out and buy yourself
a copy and I'll link the article
467
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,960
as well that I did in Newsmax
kind of about your story.
468
00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:12,000
So really appreciate you coming
on, Governor.
469
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,920
You're welcome back anytime and
I hope you have a great rest of
470
00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:16,280
your day.
Thank you.
471
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:17,800
Honored to be on with you.
Appreciate you.
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,880
Welcome to stories worth
hearing.
2
00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:06,440
I am your host, John Quick.
Today we have a remarkable guest
3
00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,640
returning to the show.
Governor Eric Greitens is
4
00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:13,240
someone whose life has been
defined by service, strength and
5
00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:15,880
resilience.
Many of you reached out after
6
00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,000
his first appearance and said it
was one of the most powerful
7
00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,080
conversations we have ever had
on this podcast.
8
00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:24,480
So I knew we had to bring him
back.
9
00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,200
In this episode, Governor
Greitens and I talk about the
10
00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,160
state of the country, how
President Trump is shaping his
11
00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,640
second term, how leadership
impacts everything from foreign
12
00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:38,160
policy to military morale, and
why the direction of America
13
00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:41,960
still offers a lot of hope.
We also dive into some of the
14
00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:46,120
most defining moments of his
time as governor and talk openly
15
00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,240
about what he went through when
political forces tried to take
16
00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:51,640
him out.
His perspective on courage,
17
00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:55,520
integrity and faith is something
you are going to want to hear,
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00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:59,480
so settle in.
This is a powerful conversation
19
00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,320
with Governor Eric Greitens.
These are the stories that
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00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:05,840
matter.
These are the stories worth
21
00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:07,800
hearing.
Well, Governor, welcome back to
22
00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:09,280
the show.
This will be fun to chat with
23
00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:10,880
you.
Excited to kind of catch up
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00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,160
here.
Absolutely.
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It's a pleasure to be back on
with you, Jonathan.
26
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Thank you so much for for having
me man.
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I really enjoyed our last
conversation.
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00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,080
Appreciate what you do.
Thanks for thanks for having me
29
00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,160
back.
I can tell you that the folks
30
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that listen to this podcast
really enjoyed our first chat.
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00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,320
It's been maybe a year or so
ago.
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00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:34,560
So it'll be, I think, fun to
just kind of jump back in and
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00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,640
hear how you doing, what you
think about kind of what's going
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00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:42,400
on in the US, how you feel like
Trump's doing and, and, and give
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00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:44,720
some hope to folks that maybe
are going through some tough
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00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,240
times.
But let's first talk about how
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00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,480
do you think the US is doing?
I mean, I know you have your
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00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,040
finger on the pulse where you
live, but you're also friends
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00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,000
with folks all over the US and,
you know, the business world,
40
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,200
the political world.
So how do you think we're doing?
41
00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,240
How do you think Trump's doing
in his second term in office?
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00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,480
Well, I think I think first of
all, one of the things that I
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00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,039
always remind people of is
people get very focused on the
44
00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:12,160
day-to-day.
They're always focused on, you
45
00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:16,000
know, this headline and stuff
that happens 48 hours ago feels
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00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,280
like it's old news.
I think it's nice sometimes to
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00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,880
pull back and take a little bit
more of a, of a wider view of
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00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,080
where we're at.
And if you just remind people
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that it was Joe Biden was in
office.
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00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:34,680
Joe Biden was the president of
the United States of America,
51
00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:37,200
right?
And you remember what he kind of
52
00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,160
looked like on camera.
You remember him dottering
53
00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:44,720
around, right?
Like, it feels like, it feels
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00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,720
like it's been a long time, but
it hasn't even been, hasn't even
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00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:49,880
been a year.
OK.
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00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:54,480
And then also when you also
think back on what America has
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00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,840
lived through, the harshness,
the tragedy of, you know,
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00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,880
thankfully, Trump's put an end
to all of the transgender, a
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00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,960
nonsense of like men playing
women's sports.
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00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:08,840
We had all of the COVID
craziness that the Biden
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00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:13,120
administration was pushing so
much loss of personal freedoms
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for for Americans.
And of course, the tremendous
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corruption that the Biden
administration brought back.
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00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,080
And I mean, still to this day,
you know, you have people
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00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,880
claiming that the Hunter Biden
laptop was Russian
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00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,720
disinformation, right?
All of this stuff.
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00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:35,080
It's just important to remember
that, you know, 50 years from
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00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,840
now, when they look back, people
were like really like that guy
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00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:43,480
Joe Biden, that was the
president of the United States,
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00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:45,600
right?
So, so, so keep that in mind.
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00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,960
And then when you turn by
contrast, I think people are
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really appreciative of the
energy that President Trump is
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00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,760
brought to his presidency.
And I think in particular, one
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00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:01,600
of the things that I often focus
on is you think about the place
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00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:05,720
that presidents play in history.
A lot of it has to do with
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00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,760
foreign affairs.
One of the reasons why Ronald
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00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,920
Reagan is so revered was because
of his role in helping the
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United States to win the cold.
War.
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00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:18,360
Right.
You look at what President Trump
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00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:22,240
was able to achieve in his first
term with the Abraham Accords,
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00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,840
which is really extraordinary
with with Israel normalizing
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00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:28,080
relations with a lot of lot of
Arab states.
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00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:32,720
And then you look at the strides
that he's taken already to put
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an end to the war in Gaza.
That's something that the Biden
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00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:39,600
administration repeatedly failed
to do.
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00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:42,640
It really didn't even take any
serious efforts to do so.
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00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,080
All of that happened also
because President Trump was able
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00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,960
to take very strong and
effective military action
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00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:51,560
against Iran.
All of these things have
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00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:55,800
actually made the United States
safer when you look at the
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00:04:55,800 --> 00:05:01,280
progress that's been made around
around the peace efforts in the
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00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:03,840
Middle East.
So I think that's one piece that
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00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:09,480
a lot of people don't often see.
Another thing, you know, there's
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00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,600
lots of commentary, of course,
on lots of political issues.
95
00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,960
But the other thing that you
that I've found is that
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00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:19,960
President Trump has also really
put in an effort to make sure
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00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,000
that the government is actually
delivering on services.
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00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,520
When you talk to veterans, they
will tell you that there was a
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00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:31,120
massive difference in President
Trump's first term and how the
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00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,440
VA delivered services.
And now that Trump is back in
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00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:36,680
office, you're hearing from
veterans again.
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00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,400
They appreciate what the
president has been doing to make
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00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,200
the VA more effective for
veterans.
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00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,600
So whether it's foreign policy,
domestic policy, lots of
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different issues, but these are
places where you'll see the
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00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:52,760
legacy media won't give the
president any credit, but I
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00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,320
think he's actually made some
some very strong moves.
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What is?
What is affect, you know, let's
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00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,480
say the Army, Air Force,
Marines, all those kinds of
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00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,240
folks who potentially get a new
boss every four years, a new
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00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:08,840
president, Does it affect morale
when they have a Trump as
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00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:10,680
opposed to a Biden as their
boss?
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00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:18,240
I think the answer is yes, 100%.
It it affects morale and the the
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00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,080
place you can see.
You don't have to take my word
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00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:22,840
for it.
Look at the recruiting numbers.
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00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,600
Look at the recruiting numbers.
There's a massive recruiting
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00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:28,880
crisis when Joe Biden was in
office.
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00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,240
And then as soon as President
Trump comes in office, Army,
119
00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:35,640
Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps.
I'm not sure about the Space
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00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:38,360
Force numbers, but they're all
of the recruiting numbers.
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00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:43,440
You saw a massive increase in
them when President Trump came
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00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,000
into office.
Because young people who are
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looking at the prospect of
putting their lives on the line
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are asking themselves who's the
commander in chief?
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00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:57,480
And we've always had in the
United States a non a non
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00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:01,240
political military who was
willing to and able to serve
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00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,000
whoever was elected by the
people of the United States of
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00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,040
America.
But I will tell you that it
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00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:11,240
makes a very big difference in
terms of morale when people
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00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:15,440
believe that they have a
president who's going to use
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American forces wisely and who
also honors the United States
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military.
Yeah, I tend to agree with that.
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Let's shift a little bit.
I'd love to hear, you know, your
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thoughts on being governor.
You're you were the governor.
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00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,400
I think during the time.
I think a lot of folks in your
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state really appreciated and
enjoyed you being the governor.
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00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:43,000
You faced similar things that
Trump faces now on a daily basis
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00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,560
where cancer culture comes in.
And if there was a poster child
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00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,400
for resilience, your name, your
face would be all over that.
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00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,040
But talk to me a little bit
about some of those proud
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00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:54,440
moments you had as governor.
What were some of the things
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00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,560
that you're still look back on
and say, man, I'm proud that
143
00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:01,400
that got accomplished?
You know that there, there are
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00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,320
so many proud moments.
I'll, I'll touch on just just a
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00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,160
couple of them.
You know, one of the things that
146
00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,240
I'm most proud of when I was
governor is we built a great
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00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,040
team.
We had a fantastic team.
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00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,600
And when I was governor, one of
the first things that I did was
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00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:18,880
a built I built a public safety
team.
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00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:22,680
We have police officers,
firefighters, first responders
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00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,800
who all came together because a
lot of your listeners will
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00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:32,400
remember Missouri, Ferguson, MO
in 2015 was the home.
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00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,520
It was the birth place of the
Black Lives Matter and anti
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00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:39,120
police movement.
That was before I was governor.
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00:08:40,039 --> 00:08:42,720
And we knew that when I was
governor, we knew that they were
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00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:47,480
going to test us again.
And indeed, in 2017, when I was
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00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:51,160
governor, we had an incident
where a white police officer had
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00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,560
shot and killed a black man on
duty.
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00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:57,760
And as the trial progressed, we
had activists from Black Lives
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00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:02,360
Matter and Antifa all over the
country came to Missouri.
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00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:05,440
And they promised, they said,
after we're done, you won't even
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00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,800
remember Ferguson.
They said we're going to burn
163
00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:12,920
Missouri to the ground.
We worked with a fantastic team.
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00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:15,880
Again, we had police chiefs, we
had fire chiefs, we had the
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00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,440
National Guard.
We had a great communications
166
00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,760
team and we used John, Jonathan
what what I call the heart and
167
00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:25,520
the fist.
We were extraordinarily clear
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00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:27,920
with everybody and the message
was very simple.
169
00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,880
It was number one, that everyone
in the United States of America
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00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:33,880
has the constitutional right to
protest.
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00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,280
So anyone who's upset with a
verdict that comes out, you will
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00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:40,640
find that our police officers
are out there and they are
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00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,000
protecting everyone who is out
there exercising their
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00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,800
constitutional right to protest.
We're also very clear that
175
00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,520
throwing a brick through a
window is not free speech, that
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00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,000
if you assault a police officer,
you're going to be arrested.
177
00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,720
My predecessor, when he was
governor, he told people that he
178
00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:02,360
was giving the rioters a safe
space to loot and to burn.
179
00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,640
And I said that when I'm
governor, if you loot and you
180
00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:09,600
burn, the only safe space you're
going to have is in a jail cell.
181
00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:15,800
Well, we were, we are
extraordinarily clear that
182
00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:17,920
number one, we're going to
protect your constitutional
183
00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:20,280
rights.
And #2 there's not going to be
184
00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:23,560
any tolerance for, for rioting,
for looting, for burning.
185
00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:30,280
And Long story short, Jonathan,
after three days and, and our
186
00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:32,720
team ended up making hundreds of
arrests.
187
00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,880
After three days, Black Lives
Matter and Antifa were defeated.
188
00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:42,120
And we proved that you could be
compassionate, you could respect
189
00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:44,480
the Constitution of the United
States of America.
190
00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:49,400
And that allowing rioting,
allowing looting, allowing
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00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:51,720
assaults on police officers,
that was a choice.
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00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,240
And it was a choice that we were
not going to make when I was
193
00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,760
governor in Missouri.
And after three days, Antifa and
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00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:02,200
Black Lives Matter left and they
had broken a few windows and
195
00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,440
turned over some potted plants,
and that was it.
196
00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,000
And I think that was one of my
proudest moments as governor.
197
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,400
Now we also now know that it was
after we were successful doing
198
00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,880
that, the George Soros funded
prosecutor in Saint Louis
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decided that she was going to
make she was going to make up a
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charge against me, right?
So, so our great one of our
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greatest successes also awakened
this tremendous enemy, which was
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George Soros and this this
George Soros funded prosecutor.
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But you know, some of my other
favorite moments.
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I will always remember going to
release Judy Henderson from
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prison.
She was a woman who served 36
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years in prison for a murder she
did not commit.
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The previous governors had all
the boards of probation and
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parole had all recommended that
she be released.
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I did a full and complete review
of her file along with my team.
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I remember one of the lawyers on
my team came back after his the
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first visit to Judy and he said
she's the most amazing woman in
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the world.
She's fantastic.
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And I ended up going up
personally, Jonathan before
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Christmas and I went to the
prison myself on my my very
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first year and told her that
that she was free and we had
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called, we'd called her family,
her daughter Angel.
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She's written, by the way, she's
written a wonderful book.
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It's called When the Light Finds
us.
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In fact, you're, as I'm thinking
of it, your, your guests may or
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your listeners may enjoy having
her her on at some point.
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She just did a a wonderful book
called When the Light Finds Us.
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And it's a real story about her
faith and her resilience through
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some incredibly hard times.
I mean, imagine being in prison
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36 years for a murder.
You didn't come and she she
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still managed to raise her
daughter from inside of prison.
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She's just an incredibly
powerful woman and that was one
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of the most important things I
think I did as as governor.
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That's pretty awesome.
I think that those are the
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things that, you know, nobody,
nobody can ever take those
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things away from you, no matter
what kind of crap they throw
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social media or whatever.
It's like those kinds of things
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will stick with you forever,
which is pretty awesome.
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You and I were chatting a little
bit before the interview that
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Trump's second term looks way
different and is more effective
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than Trump was maybe on the
first term.
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Let's say, you know, not that
you're running, but let's say
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you get another term as
governor.
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What do you think you would do
different than you did your
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first term?
Because I think, you know, you
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know, our governor, my governor,
Governor Dunleavy, his second
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term looked way different than
his first term had he, you know,
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there's a lot of things I think
had he known going into blah,
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blah, blah, he would have done
blah, blah, blah different.
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And so is there anything, you
know, it's 10 years from now,
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you're, you know, governor
again, in this hypothetical
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situation, what would you do
different, you know, going into
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it?
Well, I think I think one of the
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pages that you could take from
the Trump second term playbook
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is that Trump in the in his
first term realized how
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entrenched the bureaucracy was
and that it was fighting him
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every single day when he was
president.
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And so as he came in in the
second term, he appointed people
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who he knew were.
Loyal.
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And he also made sure that he
was going to take control of as
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much as he could.
Look, they're still fighting him
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from time to time, right?
But in order to drive change,
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you really had to control the
executive branch.
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And I was very proud in our
first term.
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We brought an incredible people.
We had a fantastic cabinet of
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very talented people from all
over the country.
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One of the things that I think I
would do in the second term is
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also one of the things I do in
the second term is also make
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sure that we're driving change
at an even deeper level.
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Not just looking at those
cabinet positions, but looking
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234 levels down in the
departments to make sure that we
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have the right conservative
change agents there.
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I actually think that's, I think
that's really essential.
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Looking back on what happened to
you and you can give a little
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brief synopsis here after the
after I spit out this question
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for folks that have been living
under a rock and maybe haven't
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heard.
But you know, the, the they sent
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their team to say, we're going
to figure out how to cancel this
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governor because he's too
freaking effective and there's
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too many people that like him.
And, and they wanted to probably
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put you in a petriot disk to see
what they could get away with.
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Ultimately, they were in the
wrong, right?
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They were the ones who are now
getting convicted or going to
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jail or finding that they
made-up everything.
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Talk to me a little bit about
what it was like going through
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that.
Because it's one thing to go
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through something like an attack
on yourself and your family.
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If you're not in the public life
and it's only like 5 or 6 people
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know about it.
It's another thing to do it in
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front of the entire United
States and having it plaster on
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every media outlet out there and
knowing I didn't do any of this
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and we may not see my point of
view, may not be seen for
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another four years.
And I just kind of got to sit
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and wait for this thing to play
through.
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That's got to just be nuts.
So tell me, talk to me a little
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bit about that and where you
found strength to keep going in
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and through all of it.
For sure.
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Well, I'll just, I'll kind of
give you give your listeners
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like a brief synopsis of the
story and what happened and then
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I'll kind of walk back through
how, how, how we made it
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through.
But you know, as we were talking
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about earlier, we had an
extraordinarily effective term
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as governor.
We are changing things across
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the spectrum and the George
Soros organization didn't like
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that.
We now know that a George Soros
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funded prosecutor decided that
she was going to come up with a
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crime to charge me with.
So a few weeks after I had ended
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the riots, she literally started
paperwork.
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She wasn't sure what the crime
was, but she decided that she
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was going to charge me with one.
She then hired A corrupt former
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FBI agent to make a false case
against me.
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They then enlisted corrupt
journalists, one of whom was a
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00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:33,160
convicted felon who ended up
paying people $120,000 cash to
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lie about me.
And that's, that's only the
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00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:39,120
$120,000 in cash that we know
about that they paid.
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This is how sick and kind of
corrupt this operation was.
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Well, you Fast forward to today.
The corrupt FBI agent and the
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George Soros funded prosecutor
were charged with eight felonies
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for perjury, for evidence
tampering, for misuse of public
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funds.
Both of the prosecutor and the
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00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:09,560
FBI agent have pled guilty.
The prosecutor was found by the
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Missouri Supreme Court to have
lied over 70 times to the court,
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lied to the judge, lied to the
grand jury over 70 times.
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She was found to have lied.
She was admonished.
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She was fined by them.
She later resigned.
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The truth has now come out, but
but one of the things that that
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you, you have to live through is
the fact that the legacy media,
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when we were going through this,
when we were going through this,
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they published literally
Jonathan, millions of negative
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00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:48,320
false stories about and it
wasn't just in the United
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States.
It was literally worldwide.
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This cover, this story was
covered around the world.
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And I remember somebody sending
me a, a, a story from the
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Jerusalem Post about this,
right?
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So they cover the nonsense and
they cover the lies in a
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worldwide way.
But then once you're exonerated,
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when the prosecutor pleads
guilty, when the FBI agent
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pleads guilty, when it all,
well, they, they don't cover it.
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If they cover it all, they bury
it in a, in a paragraph on, on
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page 7.
So, and it's also one of the
335
00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:28,400
things that is tough as you're
going through it, is it now all
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of the facts are out now today,
people know that I was innocent
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and they know that the people
who came after me are are
338
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guilty.
But at the time they didn't.
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And we also had no guarantees
that the truth would ever
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actually come out.
You know, I'm actually very
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lucky because there are a lot of
people who are falsely accused
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and they're they're slaughtered
in the media and the truth never
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00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:58,160
finds its way out.
In my case, I was actually
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extraordinarily fortunate that
that it did.
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But that process also took
years.
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It took years for all the truth
to come out.
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It took years for the FBI agent
and the prosecutor themselves to
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get prosecuted and.
Even when the story came out, it
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came out just as COVID was
starting.
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So so people people were were
thinking about other things.
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And I think one of the things
that you have to do as you're
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going through something like
that is that you just have to
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have a rock solid sense of
personal faith and personal
354
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integrity to know that it really
at the end of the day, it sounds
355
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so simple, but it doesn't matter
what other people think.
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What matters is what you know
and what you what you know to be
357
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true.
And the world can turn on people
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in a very vicious, difficult
way.
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That's probably happened to a
lot of people who are listening
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to this podcast.
One of the things that's
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happened for me, because I've
survived this in the way that I
362
00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,160
have, so many people have come
to me and it told me their
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stories about how they they
were, that's not how they were,
364
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:09,840
they were maligned.
It happens, it happens.
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And one of the things that I
I've noticed is that if you
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really stand up for good, the
forces of evil will come after
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you.
And I recently wrote in a, in a
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00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:28,400
book that'll be coming out.
It's the line I wrote.
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Is it scars left by the devil
mark you as one of God's sons?
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So you can, you can actually
wear these scarves proudly
371
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:40,560
because you know that they came
to you because you've done
372
00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,920
difficult things.
And in your own life, you can
373
00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:45,920
try to find a way to take that
pain.
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And it was really painful, and
you turn it into wisdom.
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You take that suffering and you
turn it into strength.
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00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,600
Yeah, I think that's one of the
things that I have admired the
377
00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:58,200
most in your story is that in
talking with you and some of
378
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:02,040
your team members, you know, I
get to talk to people,
379
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:05,920
successful people from all over
the globe with this podcast, you
380
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,920
know, from elected officials to
billionaires and stuff happens
381
00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:12,480
to folks.
And you guys have remained super
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00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:14,920
positive.
So I think that that's been
383
00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:16,920
something that I've seen and
looked at and it's been
384
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,680
inspiring for me because it's
very easy to be bitter.
385
00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:25,120
Something that happened to you.
It's and similar things, maybe
386
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,040
more worse or less worse, happen
to people all the time.
387
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,520
And I think the majority of the
time people choose to be angry,
388
00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:34,800
bitter, resentful and negative.
What in it?
389
00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,720
What's made you not do that?
Because there's something
390
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,120
different there than I think
most folks.
391
00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:42,920
Is it faith?
Is it because you've been to
392
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:47,040
actual wars and this is all
child's play because it's just
393
00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:50,200
kind of words on a paper?
Tell me, tell me a little bit
394
00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:54,120
about what's made you decide to
turn something that's really
395
00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:58,120
shitty into a positive thing.
Yeah, Well, well, thanks, man.
396
00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:01,320
I, I appreciate that.
Look, I do think that it, it
397
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,600
helped that, you know, before I
ever served in the military, I'd
398
00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,400
done a lot of work in
humanitarian crises.
399
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,880
So I'd seen terrible situations,
you know, people who'd lost
400
00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:15,200
their homes at Bosnia, genocide
in Rwanda, kids who'd lost limbs
401
00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:19,520
to landmines in Cambodia.
I'd seen real hardship and, you
402
00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:22,080
know, poverty and and one of
mother traces homes for the
403
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:25,200
destitute and dying in Calcutta.
I'd seen that real hardship.
404
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,000
I think, of course, obviously
going through the SEAL teams,
405
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,920
you know, serving in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Southeast Asia, the
406
00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:36,520
Horn of Africa, gives you a
perspective on what true pain
407
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:38,840
is.
Though I will often say, I, I, I
408
00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:43,120
will always tell people I'd much
rather fight the Taliban than
409
00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:46,800
than fight journalists and
politicians because they're more
410
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,280
honest.
The Taliban, they're just trying
411
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:51,880
to kill you.
You know, it's just straight up
412
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:53,920
right.
It's just they're trying to kill
413
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:57,840
you and they, they, they're not,
they're not pretending.
414
00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:01,240
So, so I think that that
perspective helped.
415
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:05,840
But really when you go through
something like that, of course
416
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,400
you have moments of anger, Of
course you have a moments of
417
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:09,960
fear.
Of course you have moments of,
418
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,480
of bitterness.
And I think you always get a
419
00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:15,920
choice in life.
I think there's really only two
420
00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:17,920
emotions.
There's fear and there's love
421
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:27,520
and you have to find a way to
remember what you love and and
422
00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:31,640
work for it and be part of it.
You know, I'm so fortunate
423
00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:35,320
because I have two beautiful
sons, Joshua and Jacob.
424
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:40,760
And, you know, one of the great
gifts that's actually been given
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00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:46,680
to me was that because of
stepping out of the schedule and
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00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,240
the demands of public life, I've
been able to be an incredible
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00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,640
dad.
I'm absolutely incumbent with
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00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,440
that.
And that they're 9 and 11 now.
429
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:59,640
And I know I often think to
myself, you know, when I'm on my
430
00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:03,200
deathbed, what's going to be
most important to me.
431
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:07,200
And the fact that I've been able
to spend this much time with
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00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:11,480
them and have these quality
trips and quality conversations
433
00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:15,120
and time going to soccer
practice and basketball practice
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00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:20,360
and all of this, I believe,
well, I, I already feel and I
435
00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:23,040
think that at the end of my
days, I'll also feel that it,
436
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,120
this was a great gift.
I love that.
437
00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:29,680
And I think I think you're going
to look back on that and think,
438
00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:34,960
you know, that there was a
purpose for everything and that
439
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:38,240
maybe that was a part of the
bigger purpose.
440
00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,200
So you could spend some more
time with your kids because Lord
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00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:45,760
knows if you're in the
governor's mansion or a senator
442
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:48,360
or whatever, you just don't have
much time for anything outside
443
00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:51,480
of that specific job.
So last question to you is this
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00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:52,880
governor, I want to be mindful
of your time.
445
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:55,400
You have a, you have a book
coming out, a new book.
446
00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:57,960
I don't think it's out yet.
Can you talk to me a little bit
447
00:25:57,960 --> 00:25:59,680
about that, what people could
expect?
448
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:01,640
What's it about?
All those kind of details We'd
449
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:03,800
love to hear.
Yeah, Well, well, what when it
450
00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:07,080
actually comes out, we should
come on and I'll, I'll talk,
451
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:09,520
we'll, we'll have another
podcast about the book.
452
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:13,640
But right now, the working title
title is The Ultimate Rebellion
453
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:19,560
Handbook, and it's a book about
how a man can take back his soul
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00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:22,760
from a world and a culture
that's trying to take it away.
455
00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:27,600
Everywhere you look today, there
are all of these demands on
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00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:34,160
people's and the ultimate
rebellion today as a man is to
457
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,520
really be master of your own
life.
458
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:39,600
And so that's that's that.
That's what the book's all
459
00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:43,600
about.
We'll have you back on to chat
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00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:47,200
about the book once it gets out.
First of all, thanks so much for
461
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,480
coming back on.
Really appreciate you.
462
00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:53,080
Your stories inspiring.
For folks that are listening,
463
00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:56,280
I'm going to link to the
governor's website.
464
00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,280
He's got a couple books out
already that people can go check
465
00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:00,960
out.
I want to encourage folks to go
466
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:06,600
check those out and buy yourself
a copy and I'll link the article
467
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,960
as well that I did in Newsmax
kind of about your story.
468
00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:12,000
So really appreciate you coming
on, Governor.
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00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,920
You're welcome back anytime and
I hope you have a great rest of
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00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:16,280
your day.
Thank you.
471
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:17,800
Honored to be on with you.
Appreciate you.